Mahaanta is one of those
films I tend to pretend do not exist, because it is one of those
films that cause me an acute pain as a Madhuri Dixit fan. In making
for almost 9 years, by the time Mahaanta came out it was badly
outdated in all aspects. The star-cast, that must have been extremely
impressive in the late 80s, when the film shooting actually started,
was, by the time it released, almost exclusively considered veteran
and non-happening (apart from Sanjay and Madhuri). The story too was
one of those bloody thrillers about revenge so popular at the time,
but no longer relevant in the post Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Dilwale
Dulhania Le Jayenge era. It wasn´t handled well either.

"Why were all my scenes cut out and my presence in the film reduced so much?"

"You are too old to be a heroine. Better you face it soon."

Honestly, I don´t know
where to begin. The film is extremely boring from the start, and to
be honest I couldn´t really follow what was happening. There was
Jeetendra, already looking 60, but playing a young man, I caught a
glimpse of the beautiful Poonam Dhillon (and my, does she disappear like a rock in the ocean not to be heard of again in this film!), but mostly the story seemed
to focus on devilish Amrish Puri, who runs illegal business and has
brave, but stupid police officers murdered. And then, out of nowhere,
Sanjay Dutt appear to save the day and Jeetu´s ass (just like that,
no explanation given). And in the next moment he´s wearing a tight
yellow Speedo T-shirt, buying sarees for his bhabhi in a supermarket,
and falling in love with the gorgeous, though horribly dressed
Madhuri, as she´s passing around. However, Amrish Puri´s „son“
falls in lust with her (no, that isn´t a typo) and to get her he
tries to rape her, and when he gets a beating, asks daddy to get him
the gal.

DAT SPEEDO!

By threats to her and
Sanju Amrish forces Madhuri to a wedding, but Sanjay having none of
that manages to steal the bride for himself and marry her. And from
this point on, the story gets even more boring and confusing, with
more kills and more raping, and Jeetendra circling around as a
righteous protector of the law while Sanjay turns into an avenging
killing machine and having a song after he murders every single one
of his enemies (sorts of „Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall,
Ninety-nine bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around,
Ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall“ gaana). Until in the end
Sanjay and Jeetendra have a Dostana moment of mutual forgiveness and
renewed love for each other. Doesn´t you head hurt just reading? Now
imagine actually watching all this in span of approximately three
hours.

"I brutally murdered a guy just now. Sha-la-la-la-la!"

None of the actors gives a
really bad performance, but none excels either. Jeetendra is boring,
Sanjay´s character actually rather unlikeable, Amrish Puri gives us
his standart staring villain and Madhuri doesn´t have a big role,
especially in the second half she only appears for the songs - a
reminder that she signed the film in the late 80s. Heck, Shakti
Kapoor is on the screen more. Music is fine and catchy enough,
although picturization of Chule Chule makes Sanjay Dutt look like a
blind, deaf and unfeeling wooden log, because to sleep with your own
wife would probably take away your super powers or what. Let´s just
smack her across the face, that´s right. Just like when she said she
loved you. Indeed, Sanju may love Madhuri in the film, but I have no
idea why would she love him so dearly, cause treats her like dirt
most of the time.

Saajan-wali Madhuri.

DTPH-wali Madhuri.

All those years it was in
making ruined the film completely. I´m completely sure Sanjay and
Madhuri´s story was just a supporting one to the main of Jeetendra
and Poonam Dhillon, or at least there was loads more of Jeetendra and
Poonam than what we´ve got to see eventually. Scenes were being
rewritten and reshot, which we can perfectly document by seeing fresh
and happy Sanjay vs. tired and weary Sanjay who just got out of jail,
Madhuri with skin problems and black curly hair from the times of
Saajan and Madhuri with flawless skin and brown messy hair she
sported post 1996, and of course Sanjay´s mullet is ever-changing,
not staying the same in two scenes.

Mahaanta is a pain. In the
hearts of Madhuri fans like me, in the brains of all the sane
movie-watchers, and if you manage to sit through it all at once, it
can easily give you a pain in the...

There couldn´t be a
better title for this film, because it is indeed primarily a movie
about searching, where every character is on a lookout for something
else. Ad to it that the full titles is „Talaash – the answer lies
within“ - and wah! Rarely you stumble upon a title summing up the
movie as perfectly, yet not revealing anything, just capturing
attention. And the movie itself proves to be just as captivating.
Before I go on, talking about the story and such, better be warned:
if you have not seen the movie yet, and actually want to enjoy it,
stop right here. I know what I´m talking about. This is one movie,
that spoilers not only „spoil“, but extremely take away from an
impact that the movie has a potential to make otherwise. I was,
unfortunately, not lucky, and knew beforehand what the twist was.
Talaash still made for an engaging and even thrilling watch. But I
can just imagine how much more I would be taken by it if it wasn´t
for some people who enjoy spoiling fun for everybody else.

"Who posted the spoilers on Twitter?"

In the dead of a night a
fast speeding car, just like that and seemingly entirely without
reason it takes a sudden turn and crashes into the sea. The driver, a
famous actor, drowns. And so police inspector Surjan starts his
search – for the reason of the tragedy, because nothing indicates a
sabotage neither a suicide. The case doesn´t seem to have a
satisfactory explanation, and the more police knows, the more
mysterious and tangled it all looks. Surjan spends his days and
nights at work. Not only he is driven by desire to solve the thing,
but he is also trying to escape his own personal pain. He has lost
his 8 years old son in a tragic accident some time ago. His shattered
wife is only slowly trying to recollect her life. Her search is for
the lost understanding with her husband.

Surjan´s investigation
brings him into the red light district of Mumbai, where he meets
Rosy, a prostitute, who gives him some truly invaluable information.
And more. Her presence seems to calm his nerves. He cannot talk to
his wife, but he feels free to do so with Rosy. With her, he can
finally rest for a few moments, without nightmares. Even Rosy is in
search of something. She is searching – for justice, a revenge for
her own death...

Spooky! That Talaash is a
ghost film becomes apparent quite some time before Surjan himself
realizes the truth behind Rosy, her tales of a lost prostitute three
years ago and also a „special place“ she leads him to. Ad to it
communicating with dead son through a medium, and you could almost
classify the film as a horror. But the supernatural is not really the
core of the film, neither is police investigation, nor are small
episodes of side characters, who are also searching – pimps for
wealth, prostitutes for freedom, and a crippled crook for a decent
life of the woman he loves. Ultimately Talaash is a human tragedy and
coping with the greatest loss a parent can bear. Whatever Surjan goes
through, every person he meets, all that is slowly leading him to
forgive himself and breathe freely again in the end. His search is
for inner peace.

"And for that T-shirt. I love that T-shirt."

Talaash is not the best
film of the last year, but it could be ranked among top 10. The
concept is not entirely new overall, but it is new for Bollywood. It
is different and well made. Performances are very good from
everybody. There is both subtlety and realism to all of them. The
film has three major stars, but none of their auras and personalities
overshadows the film, making it a background to their own shine. If
anyone around you is in search for a don´t-leave-your-brain-at-home
film, Talaash might be what they are looking for.

One of the most famous
stories of both Indian literature and cinematography, Umrao Jaan
could be easily described as a tale of a woman who got as much as bad
luck as possible. Thrown into the middle of undesirable
circumstances, Umrao Jaan accepts her fate, tries to make the best of
it, dares to hope and being heart broken tries to cope with her fate
yet again, every single time a little less hopeful, until a nearly
indifferent attitude becomes her main character feature. From unknown
enemies to her own family, they all have a share in her misery. The
woe story has been adapted on the big screen several times, yet the
1981 version starring the legendary Rekha in her, possibly, most
memorable role ever, is without a doubt the one lauded by many as the
ultimate and best presented one.

The story begins in 1840.
A little girl Amiran is kidnapped as a revenge to her father, who had
previously testified in court against a rapist (who naturally feels
offended). At first the kidnappers plan to kill the girl, but
ultimately their greed and hunger for money produce a better idea –
they would sell the girl into a brothel. That way they will get paid,
and the girl will be as good as dead to the rest of the world anyway.
Little Amiran tries to run away from the brothel, but is caught, and
has to bow to her fate for the first time. She gets a new name –
Umrao, is treated well by everyone in her new „home“, and she is
given a proper education for a future courtesan. She is taught to
sing, to play musical instruments, and her greatest passion becomes
writing poetry. Years keep flying by and in no time a slightly
awkward girl blooms into Rekha (aka into a creature with sweet,
intoxicating voice, eyes burning with an inner flame and in
possession of unique, mysterious beauty).

It is her poetry though,
that brings the love of her life to her. Young and dashing Nawab
Sultan is a lover of shayari, and it doesn´t really take much time,
until he is head over heels in love with the prostitute as well. The
fairy-tale romance, however, is cut short, when under pressure of
circumstances (and his mother), Nawab Sultan is forced to stop
visiting thr brothel and Umrao refuses to step into a house of his
friend, where she is treated like dirt. And not even several outdoor
meetings save anything. Nawab Sultan bows down to his mother´s
wishes and gets married, leaving devastated Umrao forever. There is
more bad luck in store for Umrao, as she tries to create a new way of
life for herself, taking some rather dangerous steps, but being
always struck down by one blow of fate after another. For no fault of
hers, she is ultimately only left with herself and her verses. All
the more sad since other two female characters, also destined to be
courtesans from the star, both not only find a way out of their
personal hell, but also a happiness and love.

The beginning of the film
is not edited too well. Glimpses and hints of how the things go, and
why the characters decide what they do, seem almost unrelated, and
their motivations and reactions are so only a matter of assumptions
on the part of the viewer. The story itself moves slowly, and could
easily become tiresome (as was the case of the 2006 version of the
film), but what keeps ones attention is Rekha, whose sensitive
understanding of the character truly made Umrao Jaan a living person.
Rekha is also one of those actresses, who don´t need to speak much,
yet even their smallest change of mood can be visible in their eyes
and on their face. And when she does speak, one wants to listen to
her forever. She is almost equaled in the perfection of the
performance by Naseeruddin Shah, playing a good-for-nothing Gohar
Mirza, a helper in the brothel, who has a soft stop for the
courtesan.

The settings, the
costumes, everything seems extremely realistic, and as far as I know
the makers managed to give the film an accurate historic feel to it
as well. Nothing is blown out of proportions, yet the high class and
richness of the culture of 19th century courtesans is very
apparent. The film, of course, is also famous for beautiful songs,
likeable melodies and lyrics. Finally I have to say, that although
not perfect, the film is a beautiful piece of cinema for many
reasons, some of which I have mentioned and some of which I would be
putting into words only with difficulties.

There is nothing more
poignant then watching a movie about a girl who is slowly dying,
knowing that the actress herself will not live long and is actually
slowly dying. This depressing thought was the only thing I really
took from „Ek Saal“, a drama with some romance and hurting thrown
into it. I suspect that my copy of the film had some scenes cut out
and I thus did not get to see the entire movie as it was released.
There was nothing too obviously missing really, but at times I
wondered. After all, it wouldn´t have been the first time something like this happened to me with an old movie.

Usha, a girl of a simple
name and manner, as well as extraordinary face and gazillion of
gorgeous expressions (yes, Madhubala), is celebrating her birthday
and everyone wishes her „A thousand years to live“. Unknown to
her though, Usha has a brain tumour, something her rich rich rich
father just found out, and his heart is breaking. As it appears his
daughter doesn´t have a thousand years to live – not even several
more. Just one. And the devastated man decided that the whole year
that remains should be filled with happiness and not a single worry
for his laadli beti. And so when Usha falls in love with their new
estate manager Suresh, who doesn´t return her gentle feelings,
father bribes him: for every month he spends pretending to love his
ill-fated daughter, he will give him a considerable amount of money.
Suresh accepts with head lowered in shame – and joy in his heart!

Because Suresh is in fact
a conman, who is only trying to rob the rich family of as much as
possible. And such an easy income as this he couldn´t have even
imagined. And so he romances the girl and keeps counting his money,
and planning a future of sorts with Rajni, his partner in crime.
Since it is in his best financial interest to keep Usha alive as long
as possible, Suresh searches for a doctor, who would be able to help
her. But as the months are passing by, with unmerciful clocks
tickling, he is becoming more and more aware that being greedy may
not be exactly a virtue. And Usha´s innocence and love also start
bringing their fruit. Suresh falls in love – for real. And
unfortunately the possessive Rajni will have none of his lovey-dovey
nonsense.

Why does Usha fall in love
with Suresh? That was what I wondered in the first place. And I
suspect that is where something was missing from my copy – because
I don´t like an idea she simply falls for him just like that, in a
matter of a few days, considering he didn´t show any interest in her
whatsoever, plus was so bothersome to her at the beginning. Whatever
the case, her love also chose to be quite blind. During the film
there are several situations during which Suresh nearly shows his
true face (like not believing in God and hiding suspicious letters
before Usha), yet she never question him on anything, doens´t even
stop to think about it. Then again perhaps Usha does have such a
naive, almost childish mentality, considering her father decides she
shouldn´t even know about her own state of health. Madhubala is as
gorgeous as ever in the film, making Usha almost an ethereal
creature, though not exactly someone you could relate to. She makes a
nice couple with Ashok Kumar, who in his turn delivers a good
performance too. Suresh and his change of mind (and heart) do not
happen overnight and the inner struggle shown as a dialogue with his
own mirror image/photo, who gain live for a few moments, is probably
the most interesting aspect of the story.

Kuldip Kaur as Rajni is
one sassy character with an attitude. She is no walk over, and she
doesn´t just sit about making empty threats. She goes out and
actually does what she wants without any delays. She does make you
hate her, at the same time I realised I admired her to an extent.
Same cannot be said for Johnny Walker with his completely useless
comedy track, that gets way too much space for my liking and I
recommend to fast forward through it, because it really IS useless.

Ek Saal did not win me
over. It failed to make me feel emotional. As I have already said at
the beginning, only the knowledge that Madhubala, playing a girl
dying of brain tumour, was slowly, slowly dying of her weak heart,
stayed with me once the closing credits kept rolling.